LARSEN'S REFERENCE TO CANNABIS ENFLAMES MOOSE

One candidate ran into problems with a community group after he advertised
an open house.

BC Marijuana Party candidate Dana Larsen rented Scout Hall last Saturday.
In last Wednesday's Peak, an advertisement ran about the event, part of
which said "Coffee, tea, cookies, and cannabis will be available."

That line caused the problem, according to Larsen. "I started getting panic
phone calls from the Moose Lodge and they were wanting to know what I meant
when I said cannabis would be available," he said. "I reassured them I
wasn't planning on having any kind of a smoke-in in their hall by any means
and that when I said cannabis I just sort of was trying to be provocative
in referring to our pro-cannabis stance, referring to hemp-seed cookies and
some hemp fabrics."

Larsen was told members of the Moose Lodge had an emergency meeting and
some members threatened to resign because they didn't like Larsen's stand
on licensed brothels and other platform items. Larsen explained that the
Moose Lodge wasn't endorsing him, but was just allowing him to use the
hall. Arnold Carson, the Governor of Moose Lodge, told The Peak he wasn't
at the meeting and couldn't comment on what had taken place.

In any event, the open house was successful, said Larsen, with 70 people
attending and with volunteers handing out about 300 pieces of literature to
passing vehicles and pedestrians.

Meanwhile, the other candidates spent much of their time meeting people and
door-knocking. BC Liberal Party Candidate Harold Long has been on the lower
Sunshine Coast, said Al Drummond, Long's campaign manager for the Powell
River area.

Long attended the home show in Sechelt on the weekend and also a
fundraising event at his Wilson Creek office. He has been door-knocking on
the peninsula as well.

BC Green Party candidate Adriane Carr has spent time in Powell River
door-knocking, fundraising, meeting with constituents, and doing media
work. Carr believes there are many undecided voters in the riding.

"Basically the shift is people are absolutely not going to vote NDP; they
have a lot of concern about shifting to vote Liberal. They are having a
good look at the Green Party."

New Democratic Party candidate Gordon Wilson has spent the majority of his
time in Powell River, he said, and will head down to the lower Sunshine
Coast later this week. "My personal reception is still very good," he said.
"At the moment I'm feeling quite good about things." He discounted recent
public opinion polls which indicate the Liberal Party has a massive lead.
"People generally don't like to be told how they are going to vote." The
dynamics in the election will change, he predicted.